Orange, morning rays mixed with the purple, morning haze to filter a bronze glow into the Pokémon Centre. Abby sat across from Green in a booth. Plates of scrambled eggs, half-eaten, lay before them. Lounging, Dragonair was stretched out on the booth’s back, basking in the bronze light and chewing on a purple stick. Cross-legged, Machoke sat on the floor at the end of the booth’s table, rubbing sleep from his eye and chewing on an orange stick. Chattering from the girls’ conversation echoed off the barren tiles of the lobby.

“Really? Just one Pokémon?” Abby asked.

“Yeah, you should have seen him. Looked like he’d had the soul sucked right out of him,” Green said.

“Damn, you nervous then?”

“Nah. Jackson only lost like that cause he didn’t prepare. Besides, today’s just for scouting. I don’t care if I lose.”

“That’s a pretty brutal tactic.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, sending in your team to get brutalised like that. Don’t they care?”

“Nah, getting injured is just part of the fun for them.”

“Really?”

Abby looked to Dragonair. A nod, followed by a yawn answered her.

“You wanna come along?” Green asked, standing.

“Uh, nah. I’ve uh, got training to do.”

“How’s that going anyway? We didn’t really get to catch up last night.”

Abby poked at her scrambled eggs.

“Charmeleon’s a nightmare. Ever since he evolved he just won’t listen to a thing I say. He’s only ever calm in the mornings and even then he still ignores me.”

“Don’t worry, it’s normal. You just gotta figure out what makes him tick now. Right, Machoke?”

“M-Ma!”

Sheepishly, Machoke grinned.

“I’m trying. Got any suggestions?” Abby asked.

Green shrugged.

“When Primeape won’t listen to me, I use a firm tone. Try that.”

“I’ve tried that.”

“Well, maybe he needs something to take his energy out on. Sparring might help.”

“Oh…”

“Tell you what. Tomorrow we’ll have a practice battle.”

“Uh… thanks, Green.”

“No problem. Now, I gotta get going. I wanna get in early to challenge Janine. Good luck.”

“You too.”

Green leaned over the table. Her arms wrapped around Abby in a warm, all-encompassing embrace. The urge to flinch flashed through her but Abby stiffly resisted with slow, deep breaths. The hug was nice. The hug was warm. The hug was from a friend. They broke apart and Green gave her a reassuring smile before leaving with Machoke into the morning haze.

“Why is the solution always battling?” Abby asked no one in particular.

“Air…”

Dragonair nuzzled her cheek with warm, rough and hardy scales. A warmth that calmed the stubborn temper of her nerves’ riot.

“Do you really find getting hurt fun?”

He nodded.

“Air, air, Dragonair.”

Abby sighed.

“I wish I could understand you.”

Dragonair smiled and pressed his forehead against hers, getting her to giggle.

“Thanks.”

She pecked him on the snout and he chuckled. Light-blue light sparkled across his scales and he hovered off the booth. Meandering, he floated over to the Pokémon Centre’s doors and beckoned her with his eyes.

“About time we headed off isn’t it?” Abby said.

Dragonair nodded, so, Abby scooted out of the booth, grabbed her jacket off the table, zipped it up and swung her backpack over her shoulder. Then, she and Dragonair headed out into the haze.

The Pokémon Centre was at the heart of the city, nestled tightly amongst the other building of the square. Four, wide paths split off in each direction from the square, dividing the city into four. From them, countless smaller winding paths branched off, each a mystery. Abby wasn’t feeling curious. She followed the main path north. Lanterns on every building, shop or home, guided them as they burned through the purple haze. Thick and heavy, the haze invited in a biting breeze in the absence of a strong sun. Abby his from the breeze behind the collar of her jacket and her thick head of auburn hair. Above, Dragonair snaked through the air, glimmering with flying energy. People marched along the streets around her as a united front. There was hardly a Pokémon in sight apart from the hoards of Koffing floating above the rooftops. Eyes were drawn to them wherever they went. Some people stopped to take pictures. Some gawked apologetically. Some glared with knowing eyes and whispered, hissing words to one another.

“We made quite the impression in Celadon, huh?” Abby asked Dragonair.

“Air.”

Dragonair looked at a sour-looking woman with glowing eyes. She shrieked and hurried back inside her house. They both got a laugh out of that.

Eventually, they reached an intersection. A sign hung above the streets suspended by wooden beams. Words had been hand craved into a wide, wooden board. South was Fuchsia Gym. West was the Fuchsia Market Place. East was Fuchsia Gardens. North was the Safari Zone. Abby chose none of these options. Instead, she made her way over to the shortcut she’d carved out yesterday and prepared to hop the fence of the house it lay behind when Dragonair landed in front of her. Looming, he blocked her path.

“What?”

“Air.”

His eyes glowed and he nodded past her. She followed his nod. He’d gestured to a cafe on the corner of the intersection. Of all people, Jackson was sat outside it at a table by himself. He stirred a drink, scowling at it with eyes full of dark clouds. Cautiously, Abby approached with Dragonair by her side.

“Hey,” she said.

“Huh?!”

Jackson started and knocked his drink off the table. The mug hit the pavement and shattered. He stared at her as if she’d just threatened to kill him.

“W-What are you doing here?” He asked.

“Just passing through. You looked down, you good?”

“I’m fine.”

Jackson attended to his split drink and gathered up the pieces of the mug. Abby bent down and helped him.

“Sorry about your drink.”

“I-It’s fine.”

Those dark and stormy eyes stayed glued to his broken mug. Once they’d gathered it up, Abby joined him at the table.

“I heard about your loss.”

Jackson went beet red.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, trainers lose all the time right?” Abby said

“What do you want?”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s not like we’re friends or anything. Why are you pretending to care?”

“No, we’re not friends. But we travelled together. That makes us at least acquaintances. Besides, I don’t think you run from Lavender Town to Celadon for a stranger, right?”

Jackson glanced at Dragonair.

“I guess.”

“Well, acquaintance, I can see that you’re obviously not fine.”

Jackson curled his lips.

“Maybe… so what?”

“Well, I’d like to help.”

“You can’t, you’re not a trainer.”

“I don’t need badges to understand Pokémon.”

Darkness was replaced by caution as he studied her for a moment, before becoming aware of himself and looking away. Although, the darkness did not return to his eyes.

“What do you suggest then?”

“Well, how about you join my training? I’m sure I could learn a lot from a trainer with four badges.”

A small smile crept across Jackson’s lips.

“Y-Yeah, you could. I’m pretty strong. I beat Sabrina.”

“Even Green hasn’t done that yet.”

“Yeah, she hasn’t!”

Jackson shot out of his chair, and Abby stood with him.

“Come on,” she said, “let’s get out of here before someone notices we broke that mug.”

“Right!”

Together, they ran off. Like a rocket, Dragonair shot over their heads and waited by the shortcut.

“This way,” Abby said, starting to climb the fence.

“What? We can’t do this, we’re breaking in.”

“We’re not breaking in, we’re cutting across, come on.”

Abby swung her leg over the fence, straddling it and held out a hand to Jackson.

“Uh… okay.”

With slow, precise movements, Jackson took hold of her hand and joined her on top of the fence. On the other side was a small yard with a lawn of short, neat grass. Flower beds skirted the edges, full of black and grey roses. On the other side was a small, unlocked gate. Strange, Abby thought, it was locked yesterday. Abby leapt into the yard and Dragonair hovered after her, while Jackson climbed down after them.

“Hurry, before someone sees.”

They ran across the yard and through the gate. Abby took care not to let the gate creak and kept a close eye on the windows of the house. The gate led them into a back alley of sloped ground. It came together in a groove down the middle. Long and winding, the alleys ran between all the houses, connecting them all. Of all of its branching paths, none appeared to lead back to the main road. A stagnant liquid sat in the groove of the alley. A murky, viscous substance not too dissimilar to mud but not quite alike either. At the intersections of the network of alleys were drains. The liquid streamed into it, like a murky river. Grimers, small Pokémon made of purple sludge, gathered about the drains, coming and going from them. The small, living piles of sludge left purple trails of filth where ever they went which rolled down the slopes into the groove, joining the stagnant liquid. Abby did her best to avoid them as they navigated the alleys but Jackson stopped to insect each one.

“Wonder where these drains go?” He asked.

“The sewers probably, if Grimers live in them.”

“Reckon we’ll see a Muk?”

“Let’s hope not.”

Dragonair agreed with a shudder.

“Where are we going anyway?”

“A secret place I found, you’ll love it!”

“A secret place?”

“Yeah, I reckon hardly anyone has ever been there before.”

“Cool! What’s it like?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

“What? No fair! Tell me!”

“Nope!”

Abby giggled and ran off ahead.

“Wait up! It’s slippery!” Jackson cried.

Abby enjoyed the chase. It felt good to run again, even if it was in some damp back alley. Behind closed eyes, she could almost imagine herself back in Cerulean woods. Although, the woods never smelt this awful. Dragonair spun and twirled through the air as he flew above her, shimmering with light-blue light. Eventually, once her chest was scalded with the sting of a good run, she allowed Jackson to catch back up. By then, they were far from the tight-knit intercity buildings. Trees filled the growing gaps between buildings, locked together in natural, imposing walls. At first, they showed up occasionally but quickly they outnumbered the houses five to one. The alleys were less like alleys now and more like paths, although they still shared the same groove.

“We’re close,” Abby said.

“Can I get a hint, at least? It’s only fair.”

“Nope.”

“Aww come on, why?”

“Cause it’s a surprise.”

Suddenly, Abby stopped. She’d spotted it. Between the interlocked trunks of two trees was a tiny, barely noticeable gap.

“This way, get down. We’ve gotta crawl through.”

Abby got on all fours and squeezed through the gap. The trunks hugged her from either side, fighting her intrusion. But, as much as the gap may complain, Abby squeezed through regardless. On the other side was a tight, lightly trodden path. What Abby knew to be the Northern Fuchsia Forest opened up around them. It was a dark and damp place. Sunlight struggled to reach them and grime matted a moist carpet of dead leaves underfoot. Zubats darted between the tightly packed, tall, dark trees and Nidoran scampered in the undergrowth. An Ekans slithered past. It paused, glared at Abby and hissed. Dragonair slid through the gap between the trees. The two snakes locked eyes. Compared to Ekans, he was a giant. Dragonair’s eyes pulsed and Ekans hissed again. It stood up on the end of its tail and waggled back and forth. Purple and hissing, a spark shot from the end of Dragonair’s tail. It singed Ekans’s body and Ekans dashed off with a screech. Abby giggled.

“Don’t be mean.”

“Air,” he chuckled.

Dragonair circled around her and watched the leaves suspiciously. A safari hat came through the gap, followed by Jackson. Too small to be hugged by the gap, Jackson passed through with ease. Immediately, he snatched up his hat and returned it to his head.

“We’re not training here, are we? This place stinks,” Jackson said.

“Nah, come on. Just a bit further.”

The path forward was more shrubbery and dead leaves than an actual path. Abby had to concentrate to see the subtle displacements and small bare patches that carved out their way forth. Together, the trio weaved through the trees until they came across cracks of sunlight. No longer orange, it broke through the trees as a powerful, white light. The forest opened around the path, revealing a meadow perched on a cliff overlooking the Northern Fuchsian Ocean. Far off, the cliffs of Route 16 loomed above them. Even further beyond, the peaks of Celadon City’s tallest buildings peeked above the distant tree tops. In the meadow, at the tree line, was a small campfire. Old, grey ash littered the fire pit and large, moss-covered logs surrounded it in a square. Holes where tent pegs had been hammered in littered the ground. Near the cliff’s edge, the luscious moss of the meadow had been carved away in a jagged line. Jackson ran out into the meadow wide-eyed.

“Whoa! This place rules! How’d you find it?”

“Dragonair found it yesterday, I just followed him.”

Jackson dumped his backpack by the old fire pit and rummaged through it. While he rummaged, Abby curiously approached the jagged scar in the ground.

“What is that?” Jackson asked, joining her side.

“Looks like a Pokémon made it. But it wasn’t here last time.”

“Must have been fairly strong to do something like that. Bet I could still take it tho!”

Abby ran her hand along the edge of the scar. It spat black sparks where she applied pressure.

“Huh, it was probably a dark pulse then.”

“Maybe an Umbreon then? Oh! Or Darkrai!”

“I doubt it was Darkrai,” Abby giggled.

Jackson clutched the back of his head.

“You never know. We could get lucky.”

“Meeting Darkrai would be the opposite of lucky.”

“I could take it! Just like Red did with MewTwo.”

“That’s just a rumour.”

“Nuh-uh! It happened for sure!”

“Alright, what about Gold beating Red? Do you believe that rumour too?”

Jackson’s face suddenly darkened.

“Nah… guys like Red don’t lose.”

“He lost to Lance.”

“That didn’t count! Lance used cheap tactics!”

Abby folded her arms and stood up properly.

“Is that why you lost to Janine, cause of cheap tactics?”

Jackson clicked his tongue.

“No… I lost cause my team was weaker than hers. I was too slow, lacking in power, lacking precision, lacking discipline. Well, at least that’s what Koga said. And I can’t deny it either. I mean, Golbat wouldn’t even listen to me! He just kept flying in and attacking even when I told him to wait and be patient!”

“Any idea why he won’t listen?”

“I don’t know, Golbat’s always been like that since he evolved. Half the time he won’t listen and the other half I think he only does what I say cause what I said is what he wanted to do anyway.”

“Have you tried talking to him about it?”

“Huh? Talk to him? How? We don’t speak the same language.”

“I know, but he can still understand you. Maybe you can reach an understanding.”

Furrowed lines knitted Jackson’s brow and his head cocked slightly. He spoke slowly like a parent explaining something to a child.

“He’s a Pokémon. Pokémon are meant to do what they’re told. That’s why they partner up with us, 'cause we’re smarter.”

Dragonair loomed above Abby from behind and glared at Jackson with narrowed, darkened eyes. Abby didn’t respond for a moment. The utter bewilderment of hearing such a thing froze her.

“You- You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“What do you mean? That’s how Pokémon work. They fight and we teach.”

Abby looked up at Dragonair, then back to Jackson, then back to Dragonair. They smirked and together, collapsed into laughter.

“Don’t laugh at me!” Jackson yelled.

“I-I’m sorry! How the hell did you make it so far through the gym challenge with a mindset like that, kid?”

“What do you know!? You don’t even have any badges!”

“You really think you’re smarter than like a, I don’t know, an Alakazam?”

“That’s different! Psychic Pokémon are the exception. Dragons too and ghosts! Golbat’s a common Pokémon. If I hadn’t caught him he’d still be in Mt Moon hunting Rattatta and Paras!”

“And without Pokémon where would you be, huh? You’d be back home being just another kid. What about that makes you better than him?”

“Cause I make all the plans! I come up with the training routines! Golbat would have never learned Aerial Ace without me!”

“And when was the last time you used flying energy yourself, huh? Do you really think you know more about an energy system that you can’t even control yourself? Golbat’s the one who can feel the energy. He’s the one who controls it. Maybe he knows a thing or two about how to best use it in battle?”

“He doesn’t! I’ve studied Koga’s Crobat. He fights slowly and patiently, not like a reckless idiot! That Crobat is the strongest Crobat in the region!”

“Your Golbat and Koga’s Crobat are different Pokémon. Not just different stages, different beings. They’re not some hive-mind, kid. What works for one won’t necessarily work for the other. You gotta train your Pokémon to suit their personal, unique flairs, not based on some meta-strategy.”

“Y-you- that’s- no, I-I…”

Frozen mid-word, Jackson’s eyes darted back and forth. Fear slowly started to rise through his expression.

“How about you bring Golbat out and give it a shot?” Abby said.

“Fine.” Jackson scowled. “Just to prove you wrong.”

“Just to prove me wrong, yeah.”

With sharp, rigid movements, Jackson popped open one of his belt’s plastic containers and retrieved a shrunken Pokéball. An extended press of its button enlarged the ball and another, shorter press released Golbat with a flash of red light.

“Baaaaaat!” Golbat screeched.

A flap of his wings shot Golbat into the air and he began circling above them. Jackson stomped his foot and pointed to the ground.

“Golbat, come!”

Golbat stopped and hovered above them. A devilish gleam flashed in his eyes. He screeched, swooped and began clawing at Jackson’s hat with his talons. Jackson shrieked and swatted at his head, only hitting himself in the process. Laughing, Golbat shot back into the air. He poked out a fat, pink tongue and then rocketed away over the cliff. As he descended towards the foamy sea, the air whistled around him. Light blue flames engulfed his wings and at the last second, he pulled up, looped high above the cliffs and shot back down towards the water with an explosion of light-blue energy. White flames engulfed his talons. He raced across the surface of the ocean, kicking up a spray of foam behind him. His talons plunged into the water and plucked out a Magikarp.

“Karp! Karp!” Magikarp cried as he flailed uselessly.

Braking, Golbat braced with his wings before tossing Magikarp above him and into his wide mouth, swallowing him whole. Happily, he chewed while hovering above the waves.

“Golbat! Come here!” Jackson yelled.

“Relax,” Abby said.

She wandered over to the old campsite and sat on a log.

“See! He’s not listening!”

“He’s eating, just wait. Let him come to you.”

“But he won’t,” Jackson groaned, “he never does.”

“Would you come to someone who’s screaming their head off at you?”

“No…”

“Exactly. Sit.”

Dragonair surrounded Abby in a circle and stared at Jackson with his usual, beckoning gaze. With a huff, Jackson sat beside them and folded his arms. His face darkened.

“Not like that, you gotta be approachable. Sit up straight, unfold your arms and smile.”

“But I don’t feel like smiling…”

Abby sighed.

“Then at least stop scowling.”

“Fine.”

Rather than smile, Jackson stared at Golbat with a neutral, vacant stare. Good enough, Abby supposed.

Golbat finished chewing and spat the bones back into the ocean. A gust of wind howled as it slammed into the cliffs, blasting Abby and Jackson with an updraft. While Abby shielded her face from the biting cold and Jackson held his hat to his head, Golbat played happily. He fanned out his wings and lost the light-blue energy. Instead, he allowed the wind to keep him hovering in the air, only flapping occasionally to balance himself.

“He’s pretty good at that,” Abby said.

“Only cause I taught him,” Jackson muttered.

“You taught him to fly?”

“No. When he was a Zubat, the wind confused him. The noise, it makes always threw his hearing off and he’d lose balance. So, I taught him to feel the wind with his body and wings, and to let it guide him. He was trying to fight it, but that’s not how you fly, you gotta let the wind have control.”

“Huh, cool. How’d you figure that out?”

“My dad’s a flying type trainer.”

“So he taught you?”

“Yeah, he wanted me and my brother to become ones too. But my brother loves bugs and became a… a… ento-molo-gist.”

“How’d your dad take that?”

“Not well. He took it even worse when I told him I was gonna be a mixed trainer, like Red and Blue. Said it was stupid.”

Jackson kicked the dirt and stared at his shoes. Abby scooted a little close to him.

“He’s stupid,” she said, “only you know what’s best for you.”

Jackson sniffled and rubbed his eye. Suddenly, Golbat landed before him. He hopped across the grass to Jackson’s feet and gazed at him curiously, any hint of devilish malice gone from his eyes.

“Bat?”

He nudged Jackson. Jackson just stared at him in a state of disbelief.

“He came?” Jackson asked

“Yeah, go on. Talk to him.”

“Bat?” Golbat asked.

He looked back and forth between Jackson and Abby with a furrowed brow.

“Okay… Golbat, why won’t you listen to me?”

“Bat!”

Jackson sighed.

“This is dumb, I don’t know what he’s saying.”

“Cause you’re not listening.”

“I am! He said, “Bat!”.”

“You need to listen with more than your ears. Look at his face, read his emotions. Pay attention to the tone of his voice.”

“So, what? I just gotta guess?”

“More or less. Just be honest with him. Tell him how you feel, and why, calmly.”

Jackson sighed again, then sat up properly. Golbat’s ears pricked up.

“Golbat, you’re frustrating me. You not listening is part of why we lost yesterday. Fighting slow and precise is the best way for you to fight. You’re fragile. You need to get in and out without getting countered. Which means you need to wait for openings. When you rush in like that, you’re just gonna get smashed. It’s stupid.”

“Bat!”

Golbat glared at Jackson. He flapped his wings and hovered above him. Blazing fury burned in his eyes. Jackson scowled. But only for a second before ridding it from his face. After a deep breath, he stared at Golbat intently. His eyes darted across Golbat’s face rapidly. Then, suddenly, his eyes froze and his face dropped with what Abby could only read as horrified guilt. Dragonair moved closer to Jackson with glowing eyes.

“Y-You’re frustrated too?”

Golbat nodded.

“Cause I won’t let you be you?”

Golbat nodded. Jackson whimpered and buried his face in his hands.

“I’m such an idiot. I’m being just like him…”

Golbat’s face softened and he landed. He hopped over and nudged Jackson.

“Bat?” He asked, warily.

Poor kid, Abby thought. From the sounds of it, he reminded her of her own father. She looked to Dragonair. He seemed pleased. He was looking at Jackson much in the same way he’d looked at her all the way back in Cerulean when she’d finally been honest with him. Abby’s hand fell to the pouch containing Charmeleon’s ball. Whatever was keeping them at odds, she would fix it. Suddenly, Jackson jumped to his feet.

“Alright, Golbat! Screw being patient! Let’s come up with a strategy to fight aggressive! No more waiting for openings! Let’s make our own!”

Elated joy brightened Golbat’s face.

“Bat! Bat! Bat!”

He took to the air and danced around Jackson’s head. Jackson held out his arm and Golbat perched on it, grinning.

“The most important part about aggressive battling is quick-attack. It lets you engage, disengage and dodge all while keeping pressure. So let’s start with that! Concentrate on your whole body, and channel energy through it all with a deep breath. Feel it flow from your lungs to your head, to the ends of your feet and the tips of your wings,” Jackson said.

Golbat shut his eyes and took a long, deep breath. His brow furrowed.

“No, relax. Don’t force it.”

“Bat.”

Golbat nodded and tried again without the furrowed brow. White sparks popped all across his body.

“That’s it, now you can tense. Think of it like squeezing the energy out of yourself.”

“Bat!”

Golbat furrowed his brow and his body tensed all over. A growing shower of white sparks spewed from his body until he was overcome by a white glow.

“Open your eyes and aim!”

Golbat opened his eyes and immediately, with a flash of white, blinked forward a few feet.

“Yeah! Great job!”

“Bat! Bat!”

They both danced, sporting dumb grins. Abby giggled and watched with a satisfied smile. From behind, Dragonair rested his chin on her shoulder. The tip of his tail flicked her belt, touching Charmeleon’s Pokéball. Glowing eyes challenged her.

“Yeah, yeah I know. I’ll give it another shot,” she said.

“Give what another shot?” Jackson asked.

“I’ve been having my own Pokémon troubles.”

Abby opened the leather pouch and got out Charmeleon’s ball.

“Oh! Is it your Gyarados?” Jackson asked, far too enthusiastically.

“Nah, he’s fine. My Charmeleon’s the issue. He hasn’t listened to a thing I’ve said since he evolved.”

“Duh, of course. He’s a fire type. They’re all like that. That’s why only strong or crazy people train them.”

“Oh.”

Abby frowned at the pokéball.

“But you just gotta do what you told me to do, right? Talk to him and listen.”

“I’ve been trying but it doesn’t matter how approachable I make myself or how patient I am with him, he doesn’t listen. He either sits around doing nothing or tries to burn the closest thing to him. Look.”

Abby pressed the pokéball’s button and released Charmeleon. He appeared between Abby and Jackson asleep. Jackson, with a curious look, stepped forward. Immediately, Charmeleon’s eyes snapped open and he was on his feet.

“Char!”

The flame on his tail turned red and he opened his mouth. Flames brimmed around his jaws, about to fire. Jackson shrieked, Golbat darted forward and Abby shouted but ultimately it was Dragonair, who loomed over Charmeleon with blazing eyes that stopped him. Charmeleon closed his mouth, huffed and instead blasted the old fire pit with a torrent of flames. The grey ash smouldered with new embers, the earth beneath turned to lava and the air warped and wobbled.

“You okay?” Abby asked.

Jackson hardened his now ghostly pale face with courage and nodded.

“Y-Yeah, fine.”

“Sorry about that. But see what I mean, he’s impossible.”

Jackson folded his arms and watched Charmeleon intently who had started attacking a tree with claws made of purple lightning.

“Hmm, have you tried having him spar?”

“Spar? …” Abby tried not to groan. “No. I haven’t.”

“Spar with me! I wanna try out some new techniques with Golbat anyway!”

“Oh, I don’t know. Charmeleon might, uh, you know, go too far or something.”

“Nah, it’ll be fine. We’ll just use casual rules”

“Casual rules? What are those?”

Jackson tilted his head.

“You don’t know?”

“Nope.”

“How? It’s like the standard way of battling outside official matches.”

“I just don’t, okay.”

“Okay. Well, casual rules allow for free switches, healing between rounds, unlimited timeouts and there’s no time limit.”

“Would that mean it could go on forever?”

“Nah, someone’s Pokémon will eventually tire out. Healing potions only restore the body, not stamina. Oh, also you can’t bet on causal matches. There’s no stakes, except bragging rights.”

Abby looked back at Charmeleon. He was slashing at the ground with steel-covered claws.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“What’s wrong? Scared?” Jackson grinned.

“I’m not scared, it’s just-”

“You’re scared! You’re scared!”

“Bat bat! Bat bat!” Golbat mimicked.

Abby stomped her foot.

“I’m not scared!”

“Prove it!”

“Fine! Charmeleon, come! It’s time to battle!”

Charmeleon looked up from his slashing, grinned and was at Abby’s side in a flash. They all stared at him in collective silence.

“Y-You listened?” Abby asked.

“Char!”

Charmeleon eyed Golbat with wide, wild eyes. Red flames crept from the corners of his smirk.

“Alright, let’s do this!” Jackson said. “My team versus your team!”

“No, just a one on one. Charmeleon versus Golbat.”

“Three on three!”

“One on one.”

“Fine.”

With narrowed eyes, Jackson turned and crossed the meadow. He stood near the cliff’s edge with Golbat perched on his shoulder.

“Come on, Charmeleon let’s-” Abby began.

Charmeleon ran ahead and took his position on the battlefield. Abby sighed.

“get this over with…”

With a point, Jackson sent Golbat out to match Charmeleon. The two Pokémon leered at each other. Golbat poked out his tongue and crossed his eyes, and Charmeleon gnashed jaws of red flame with a snarl. Dragonair meandered up above the battlefield. He curled into a spiral and rested his chin on himself as he watched with a grin.

“You ready?” Jackson asked.

Charmeleon howled and spat a plume of flames above him, raining embers all across the meadow. Abby folded her arms.

“Apparently.”

“Alright, let’s start then. Golbat, empower your wings with flying energy.”

“Bat!”

With a sharp flap, Golbat’s wings burst into light-blue flames. Before Abby could even begin to speak, Charmeleon lunged forward. Purple claws of draconic lighting extend from his hands. He swiped them at Golbat, leaving purple, jagged trails through the air.

“Counter!” Jackson yelled.

Golbat blinked forward and met Charmeleon’s attack with a slice of his wing. Charmeleon’s attack nailed Golbat in the face, carving three jagged wounds through his flesh. While Golbat’s slice fell just short. However, from the tip of the wing, light-blue energy drew a line through the air which fired into Charmeleon at point blank range. An explosion sent both pokémon flying in either direction. Weeping a fountain of blood from jagged wounds, Golbat landed at Jackson’s feet with a wet squelch. While Charmeleon dug the claws of his feet into the ground, bringing himself to a calm stop. A long, black wound ran down his front. Abby wrinkled her nose and looked away.

“Cool!” Jackson said, “Alright, timeout!”

“Stop, Charmeleon, come here,” Abby muttered.

Charmeleon did not stop. Howling, he rushed forward. Red flames poured from his mouth and eyes.

“Air!”

Purple light flashed as Dragonair spat a draconic flare at Charmeleon’s feet. The small explosion stopped Charmeleon in his tracks, who then glared at Dragonair. His tail flame surged and red flame built in his mouth.

“No!” Abby yelled, “come here!”

Charmeleon opened his mouth and the flames were about to spill over when Dragonair casually spat a purple bolt into his mouth. The flames extinguished and black smoke puffed from his mouth and nostrils. Charmeleon cried out and retreated to Abby, black smoke billowing from his mouth. Abby pulled a potion from her belt and was on her knees at once. Bawling, Charmeleon rushed into her arms.

“Hey, hey it’s okay. I’ll heal you.”

“Ch-Char!”

Abby sprayed the potion into his mouth and the torn, smouldering flesh inside his cheeks and on his tongue healed quickly. Immediately, Charmeleon ran from her back onto the meadow. He stood still, eyeing Dragonair with narrowed eyes. Jackson healed Golbat and fed him a small, green pellet. With shaky wings and dropped eyes, Golbat flew up onto his shoulder.

“That was great, Golbat! You used Air Cutter. If you use that from a distance, you can bombard the enemy from range.”

“Bat!’

Golbat flew off his shoulder and glared defiantly.

“Or, from close up?”

“Bat.”

Golbat nodded. Jackson clutched his chin and looked to the sky.

“Hmm, I guess that could work. You gotta get better at dodging though. Watch your opponent's eyes when you engage, they’ll tell you where they’re aiming.”

Golbat narrowed his eyes, and looked back at Charmeleon, then back to Jackson, back to Charmeleon and finally back to Jackson. With a nod, he assumed a fighting position with glowing wings.

“You should use your fire then, Charmeleon. Keep out of range of his attacks.”

“Char!”

Charmeleon ignited his dragon claws.

“Or do that, sure.”

Without instruction, both Pokémon charged at each other. Charmeleon lunged and Golbat blinked forward. However, when Charmeleon went to swipe, rather than matching him, Golbat blinked to the side and Charmeleon swiped at nothing but air. Rapidly, Golbat began slicing with his wings. A flurry of rapid-fire, light-blue energy blades bombarded Charmeleon. He raised his hands with a shriek, veiling them in steel but that did little more than protect his hands. The blades exploded all over him, leaving long, charred gashes across his body. The combined force pushed him, even as he dug the claws of his feet into the ground.

“Chaaaaaaar!” He roared.

The flame of his tail surged and his eyes burst into red flame. A billowing plume of red flame unleashed from his mouth, engulfing the swarm of blades. Screeching, Golbat shot up with a flap and a burst of light-blue energy, narrowly avoiding the attack. The thick plume of flames incinerated a strip of the meadow, leaving behind a path of blackened moss. Charmeleon stopped the torrent and went to lunge but his mangled, charred legs buckled and he fell forward.

“Quick! Aerial Ace!”

Golbat grinned and became a light-blue blur as he looped up and swooped down. Abby knew she could end it. She could recall him or call a time out, but, as much as it pained her, letting Charmeleon lose would be for the best. He needed to learn. So, unimpeded, Golbat slammed into Charmeleon with an earth-shaking explosion of flying energy and sent him skidding across the meadow. Before he could go sailing over the cliff, Abby threw out his Pokéball and returned Charmeleon.

“There, happy?” Abby muttered.

“Yeah!”

Jackson ran to meet an ecstatic Golbat. He opened his arms and Golbat flew into them. Hugging him, Jackson hopped about in a circle.

“You did it! You did it!”

“Bat! Bat!”

“I’m sorry I ever doubted you!”

The already enormous grin Golbat was sporting grew even wider. His eyes moistened as both cried and laughed. Then, unbelievably, he began to glow. White light engulfed him and he began to morph like putty. Jackson gasped and stepped back. Golbat’s long, oval body rounded into a sphere. His two, small pointed ears grew large and tall. His wings extended, becoming long, reaching wings that reached out more than three times the size of his body. Another pair of wings sprouted beneath them, growing to only half their size. His taloned feet became short, nubby things. Suddenly, the light snapped away, revealing a Crobat. The once narrowed, beady eyes of Golbat were now large, yellow eyes that glared, perched above a scowling mouth of bared teeth. The scowl lasted only a moment before being replaced by a grin.

“Crrrrro! Crrrrro!” He cried with a growling, croaked cry.

“You evolved!” Jackson yelled.

“Crrrrro!”

Jackson held out his arm and Crobat was perched on it in a flash. Shouting and laughing, Jackson’s arm buckled and he strained to keep it extended. Oblivious, Crobat nuzzled the side of his head, knocking off Jackson’s hat in the process. Whistling, Charmeleon’s Pokéball returned to Abby and she snatched it out of the air. Stiffly, nearly robotic, Abby approached Jackson and held out her hand for a shake.

“Well done. Congratulations,” she said through a clenched jaw.

Grinning, Jackson squeezed her hand and shook it but only for a moment. He started, as if the handshake had shocked him, and ripped his hand away. Looking at the ground, he mumbled.

“Th-Thanks.”

Dragonair landed between them and shot them both narrowed looks. Air, hot and powerful, blasted them both as he huffed. Abby grasped her wrist and dodged both their eyes.

“How come you didn’t stop the battle?” Jackson asked, “It was only a casual battle, we could have kept going.”

“Charmeleon, he needed to learn that he can’t do this on his own.”

Jackson shook his head.

“That won’t work.”

“Oh? And suddenly you’re an expert on connecting with Pokémon?”

“N-No! But you’re just being dumb! You’re meant to be the one who’s good at that stuff.”

“Please, enlighten me on why I’m dumb.”

Jackson pursed his lips and shuffled his feet.

“S-Sorry, I didn’t mean- you’re just missing it,” Jackson said. “I don’t know why, but you’re not listening to your own advice. You need to, uh, what’s the word? Comp-a-mise? You know, when you do something you don’t want to cause the person you care about does want to do that thing.”

“Compromise? I am compromising, I just battled with him.”

“No, you let him battle. You weren’t battling with him. Like, why would he want to listen to someone who isn’t even interested in what’s happening?”

“Th-That’s not it. We’ve battled before, he knows I’m good at it. He just thinks he doesn’t need anyone anymore now that he’s evolved.”

“He listened to Dragonair.”

A beckoning, piercing stare bore down on her from Dragonair. Abby looked down at Charmeleon’s ball in her hand and squeezed it.

“Alright… fine. I admit it. I wasn’t really trying. But I can’t help it! I hate battling! I hate seeing them get hurt! I can’t force myself to like something that I don’t!”

“Nah, you can.”

Abby blinked at him. The kid had said that so plainly. As if it were obvious. She shook her head. It’s cause he’s a kid, he’s not old enough to understand.

“You can!” Jackson insisted, “I used to hate vegetables. But on my journey, I’ve been forced to eat them when I’m low on funds and I found that even if they taste awful, they make me full of energy after. And now I like them. You can do the same with battling. Even if you hate the violence, there’s gotta be something you can find in it that’s enjoyable.”

“Like what?”

Jackson shrugged.

“I don’t know what you like. That’s for you and Charmeleon to discover.”

Abby giggled and shook her head. How far had she fallen to be getting relationship advice from a twelve-year-old? It was absurdly pathetic. Dragonair snickered and nudged her with his snout. Gently, she stroked him, running her hand across the smooth bumps of his scales. A warmth radiated from them in a slow, pulsing rhythm.

“Alright, I’ll give it a try,” she said.

“Cool! You wanna do this again, then?”

As Jackson asked that, his voice trailed off into a whimpering whisper. Abby smirked.

“Sure. Let’s meet here every morning and spar. I’ll help you train for Janine, you help me connect with Charmeleon.”

“Deal!”

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Thanks for reading! Feedback is appreciated <3

Next chapter, After a crushing defeat, all Green wants is to indulge in some pleasure. And the only one standing in her way is herself.